About Stockdale Coddington

The Family of Stockdale Coddington (unpublished mss. by John Insley Coddington)

STOCKDALE CODDINGTON or CUDDINGTON was probably a member of the family whose name was derived from the hamlet of Cuddington, co. Surrey. Individuals of the name are found in the Surrey records as early as the thirteenth century, and no connection has yet been discovered between this family and the Coddingtons of Cheshire or the Coddingtons of Lincolnshire. William Coddington, the famous Governor of Rhode Island, came from Lincolnshire, and, so far as is known, there is not the slightest connection between him and Stockdale Coddington. The record of Stockdale Coddington's first marriage would seem to imply that he was at that time a resident of Reigate, co. Surrey. There was a Coddington family resident at Reigate all through the sixteenth century, and he was doubtless related to them in some way, but there is unfortunately no record of Stockdale's baptism at Reigate, although the Parish Register of Reigate commences as early as 1542. Stockdale Coddington deposed in a Chancery Deposition in 1626, and gave his age at that time as about 60, so he was probably born about 1566. But the first record of him that has yet been found is that of his first marriage, which took place 23 Feb. 1594/5. On that day, "Stockdall Quedington and Frances Ismangale" were married at the Church of St. Dionis Backchurch in the City of London. The record states that they were "of Reigate in Surrey." The name "Quedington" is a recognized Surrey variant of Coddington or Cuddington. It is also sometimes spelled Quiddington. Stockdale Coddington and Frances his first wife settled at Dorking, co. Surrey, a small market town situated about six miles from Reigate and about twenty-eight miles from London. He was on the list of Dorking taxables 9 Nov. 1596 (Surrey Musters, pub. By Surrey Record Society, vol. 3, p. 239). After the death of his first wife, he married (2) in 1600 Sarah Wood, and it is from this marriage that his American family descends. The second wife died in 1621, and Stockdale Coddington married… The Parish Registers of Dorking, co. Surrey, begin in 1548, and the first Cuddington entry is the baptism, in 1596/7 of Anne, daughter of Stockdale Cuddington. It is, therefore, safe to assume that Stockdale himself was not a native of Dorking, but came there from some other Surrey village as a young man. He was on the list of Dorking taxables, 9 Nov. 1596 (Surrey Musters, pub. By Surrey Record Society, vol. 3, p. 239). He was married three times, and emigrated to New England with his third wife, Hannah, and settled at Roxbury. He and his wife were mentioned in the will of Elizabeth Hobert, of Boston, dated 29 Dec. 1643. The testatrix bequeathed the large sum of three score and ten pounds, ten shillings to Hannah "Carrington," apparently in payment of a debt. She also bequeathed £4 to "Stockdell Carrington." Hannah, wife of Stockdale Coddington or Cuddington, "an ancient woman," died of apoplexy and was buried at Roxbury 20 July 1644. Shortly thereafter, Stockdale removed to Hampton, N. H. where he purchased land in 1648, and where he died in the spring of 1650. Letters of administration on his estate were granted to his eldest son John Coddington of Boston, 9 April 1650, and John sold the land at Hampton 15 April 1650 (C. H. Pope, "Pioneers of Massachusetts, p. 107).

Stockdale was a barber-surgeon who probably practiced in London 1591-1595, and may have served his apprenticeship in the Company of Barber-Surgeons (records destroyed in Great Fire of 1666). Barber-surgeons were not doctors because they had no university degrees, but they were men of many talents: they cleaned wounds, amputated arms or legs when necessary, shaved men and trimmed their beards, pulled bad teeth, applied leeches to anything that looked infected, and were not only useful but indispensible citizens. Stockdale married Francis Ismangale at St. Dionis Backchurch, London, by whom he had two daughters, baptized at Dorking, both of whom died young. He had nine children, all born at Dorking, by his second wife Sarah Wood,whom he married on 25 Mar 1600 (then New Year's Day). No issue by his third wife Hannah, the widow of a man named Taylor. Stockdale and Hannah emigrated to New England in 1643 and settled at Roxbury, Mass in 1644. After Hannah's death in 1644 he moved to Hampton, NH, where he died in 1650. An inventory of his estate amounted to £24 4s, plus real estate. In 1648, Stockdale bought from Henry Green land in Hampton which was sold by his eldest son John in Apr 1650 in Boston to Edmund Johnson to pay for the care of his late father. Note: John I. Coddington has a copy of the "Results of General Search in the Records and Collections of the Heralds College" for coats of arms of Coddingtons in Surrey. 8 picture

• Fact: Bef 1622, Dorking, Surrey, England. 10 held "freely one tenement in West Streete called Godfreys, now converted into a tenement sometimes Cowpers and sometimes Henry Rogers, late Edward Goodwyns, purchased by the said Stockdale of Jasper Goodwyn." Neaby houses included those of William Mullins (Mayflower passenger) and Margaret Wood.

• He moved on Abt 1644 to Hampton, Rockingham Co., New Hampshire. 1,14 Stockdale lived in the household of his second wife's sister, the widow Mary (Wood) Hussey and mother of Capt. Christopher Hussey, an important early settler of Hampton.